"Stay away from me," Melissa demanded.
"How is this even possible?" the sheriff asked from beside her.
"No way. You're not coming in here."
"This is one of the dumbest things you've ever done."
"Boys, I'm not kidding. You stay right where you are."
The adults were guarding the McCall's backdoor like two centurions while trying not to breathe too deeply. They each had their nose stuck inside the collar of their shirt in an attempt to lessen the smell. The strong, foul odor emanating from their sons was making their eyes water. Their sons had been walking toward the house through the backyard when they were stopped by their parents. The bright full moon illuminated the two mud covered boys and they looked miserable. The adults looked as sick as the boys looked aweful.
"For the love of all that is holy, how did you manage to get sprayed by, not one but, two skunks?" The sheriff asked, voice muffled by his shirt.
Stiles coughed. "It's Scott's fault."
"What? I'm not the one that fell in their den."
"You know, skunks are very docile creatures. They wouldn't have sprayed us just because I found their den but then you had to scare them with all your wolfiness."
"At least you don't have super smelling."
"I may never be able to smell normally again," Stiles moaned.
"Enough," Melissa brought the sniping to an end. "I'm going to the store to get all the tomato juice they have. Stay away from the house."
The sheriff eyed the reeking teenagers. They would be the death of him, if he did not die of asphyxiation before the night was over. He honestly had no idea it was possible to get sprayed by two skunks at the same time. He pulled out his wallet and handed Melissa his last twenty dollar bill.
"This should cover my half."
Her eyebrows went up. "Oh no. This is what you owe me for betting that the boys could stay out of trouble for one night. You can pay me for the tomato juice later."
"What?" Stiles asked as she all but ran through the door into the fresher air of the house. "You guys had a bet and you bet against us? That is so wrong. Parents shouldn't be betting on their kids… What exactly was the bet anyway?"
"Son, shut up and get back over where you were."
Stiles shuffled his feet backward three feet to his place next to Scott. The sheriff raised his eyes to the sky. 'How did this become my life?' he thought. As he lowered his eyes to the McCall's backyard he spotted the barbeque grill. There was no way their clothes were salvageable and if he knew anything, he knew you could always kill it with fire. He sent a threatening look in the boys' direction before preparing the grill.
Twenty minutes later Melissa returned to the backyard juggling two bulk sized cans and a bag of smaller cans of tomato juice to find Scott and Stiles standing in their allotted corner of the yard in their underwear. The stench was only slightly masked by the smell of smoke and lighter fluid coming from her grill. Through the flames she could see a remnant of the flannel shirt Stiles had been wearing.
"I hope this is enough. Scott, you and Stiles go in the shed and get your old kiddie pool and put it where you are."
They watched as their children noisily pulled the five foot plastic pool to their corner.
"That's good right there," Melissa directed. She indicated the cans of juice at her feet. "Now each of you gets half of this. There's a can opener in the bag. Since you got in this mess together, you can get out of it together. Therefore, I'm going to put all this stuff in the middle of the yard. You don't move until we're in the house. Hose yourselves off before using the tomato juice. I want you to scrub until even Scott can't smell skunk anymore. Got it? Then, and only then, can you rinse. I'll put towels on the porch."
The boys nodded dejectedly. Stilinski took a deep breath and pulled the water hose halfway across the yard and made sure the spray nozzle was off before returning to Melissa's side and breathing through his shirt sleeve. She turned on the hose and handed him the bulk cans and took her own deep breath through the hand covering her mouth. The two of them took the cans to the end of the hose before backing up quickly.
When they were once again at the backdoor he asked, "So, shall we pick up where we left off while those two knuckleheads give each other sponge baths?"
She laughed then wrinkled her nose. "That sounds like a fantastic idea. You go get settled while I get the boys a couple of towels I don't mind throwing away."
A few minutes later Melissa walked into the den laughing after peeking through the window. Stiles was pouring a small can of juice over Scott's head while Scott was rubbing it into his hair. She relayed all this as she made herself comfortable. The two of them were sharing the couch with their feet propped on the coffee table with a bowl of popcorn between them. Their movie, paused thirty minutes in, awaited their attention. He could just make out the boys' heads if he sat up straight, which he did every so often. Each kid was covered in tomato juice and was diligently scrubbing it into their skin, desperately trying to rid themselves of the stench of frightened skunks. The movie was good though, and soon distracted him from the odors and sounds coming from the backyard.
When the movie was over Melissa turned to her friend. "Do you think they've soaked long enough?"
"If we don't want to be arrested for child abuse we should probably go check."
Their children were still in the kiddie pool that was now filled with watered down tomato juice, but the smell had diminished greatly. They were slightly pink and wretched looking. The adults both laughed at the sight. Melissa turned to the stairs.
"We should probably feel guilty for laughing. I'll go get Stiles some of Scott's clothes to wear home. Why don't you tell them to come take a shower? Stiles can use Scott's bathroom."
"We have a parental right to laugh at our children; otherwise we're doing it wrong. Once they're in the shower we can start the sequel."
"There was a sequel?"
The sheriff just laughed and went to collect his child and his partner in crime. The boys were ushered to their respective bathrooms under strict adult supervision to ensure they did not touch or drip on something other than the hardwood floors. Then the adults started the second film of the evening. Scott and Stiles joined them after their showers smelling only vaguely of tomato juice with a hint of skunk. They were forced to share the floor since Melissa refused to have even a whiff of 'that foul odor' on her furniture. Family and friends safe together safe, if smelly, was not a bad way to end yet another full moon.